Projection printer



P 1941- B. E. LUBOSHEZ 2,256,397

PROJECTION PRINTER Filed Aug. 7, 1940 v 9 Sheets-Sheet l MEI BENJAMIN f. L 0505/1152 I INVENTOR A 'I'TORNE Y P 1941- B. E. LUBOSHEZ 2,256,397- PRGJECT:[ON PRINTER Filed Aug. 7, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 fiE/vJAM/N f. LZ/BOSHEZ INVENTOK BY WM A TTORNE Y Sept. 16, 1941.

B. E LUBOSHEZ PROJECTION PRINTER Filed Aug. 7, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR /I TTORNE Y Sept- 1941 B. E. LuBosHE-i 2,256,397

PROJECTION PRINTER Filed Aug. '7, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 BENJAM/NE. LZ/BOSHEZ INVENTOR ATTORNEY p 4 B. E. LUBOSHEZ 2,256,397

PROJECTION PRINTER Filed Aug. 7, 1940 I 9 Sheets-Sheet s EE/YJAM/Nf. L 08051952 I N V EN TOR A TTORNE Y Se t. 16, 1941- B. E. LUBOSHEZ PROJECTION PRINTER Filed Aug. 7, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 A TTORNE Y Sept. 16, 1941- B. E. LuBosHEz PROJECTION PRINTER Filed Aug. '7, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR BENJAMWE. L 0505/7 52 A TTORNE Y Se t. 16, 1941.

E. LUBOSHEZ PROJECTION PRINTER Filed Aug. 7, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 BENJAM/NE La os/1E2 I N V EN TOR BYW/ A TTORNE YS p B. E. LUBOSHEZ 2,256,397

PROJECTION PRINTER Filed Aug. 7, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 BENJAM/N 5. L05 05/152 IN V EN TOR BY W A TTORNE Y Patented Sept. 16, 1941 PROJECTION PRINTER Benjamin E. Luboshez, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 7, 1940, Serial No. 351,763

11 Claims.

This invention relates to projection printers for photographic purposes.

It relates generally to the same subject matter as my copending applications Serial Nos. 351,761 and 351,762 filed concurrently herewith, the latter jointly with Ralph M. Evans.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a projection printer for making prints, usually on paper, from transparencies.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide a projection printer for making color prints from color transparencies. The specific objects of the invention are listed below.

1. It is an object of the invention to provide a projection printer which is convenient in operation and particularly convenient as far as manipulation of the original transparency is concerned.

2. It is an object of the invention to provide a printer with accurate and easy means for focusing sensitized paper even when the paper is used in large heavy rolls.

3. It is an object of the invention to provide means for viewing the original to permit masking adjustments and selection of the portion of the original to be printed.

4. It is an object of the invention to provide a compact printer in which the position of the observer is conveniently near the original during all routine operations.

5. It is an object of the inventionto provide a projection printer which is compact, strong and rigid and capable of withstanding considerable wear and tear. I

6. It is an object of the invention to provide a means for viewing the original directly and conveniently from eye level during the operations of selecting the portion of the original to be centered on the print and masking this original and to provide means for cutting off the printing beam during the viewing.

7. It is an object of the'invention to provide means for viewing the image formed by the 'optical system of the printer so that the focus the density and the color of the image maybe judged.

8. It is an object of the invention to give an image of this type on a ground glass which image has increased brilliance.

9. It is an object of the invention to provide a convenient standard whereby the color and density of the image may be judged.

10. It is an object of the invention to provide means for convenient change-over from the direct -viewing of the original as described in object 6 to the viewing of the image on the viewing screen. as described in object '7 above.

11. It is an object of the invention to provide means for changing the magnification in a printerhaving some or all of the above advantages.

12. It is an object of the invention to provide means for maintaining accurate and automatic focus during the change of magnification and particularly to provide such means which is rigid and stable in its adjustment. a

The invention will now be described with particular reference to making a positive color print on paper from a positive color transparency. However, except for those features involving color, the invention is equally applicable to various processes such as the simple one wherein a positive paper print is made from an ordinary negative.

According to the invention, the general and specific objects listed above are accomplished by combining the following features in a printer. In order to permit easy manipulation of the original color transparency or other photographic record, for selection of the portion to be printed andfor masking, a horizontal gate is provided for holding this transparency and this gate is illuminated from below. When making prints on relatively large rolls of paper it is necessary to use a heavy, strong roll holder. Focusing such a heavy roll holder is most accurately and easily obtained with horizontal movement thereof and hence a vertical printing gate is provided. To form an image of the record gate on the printing gate a reflector and lens is used, the lens .being preferably between the reflector and the printing gate to permit the reflector to be used for an additional purpose. With this arrangement it is, of course, desirable first, to have some convenient means for viewing the record gate for manipulating the transparency, second, to be able to view the transparency directly from above so as to utilize the illuminating light most efficiently and third, to shut off the light from the printing gate during the manipulations. ObjectNo. 6 above listed is obtained by having this, reflector rotatable about a hinge above the lens. i. e. on the side of the horizontal light beam from the reflector to the printing gate opposite to the record gate. The reflector thus has two positions, in one of which it, reflects the light horizontally in one direction through the lens to the printing gate and in the other it reflects the light horizontally in the other direction to the eyes of the observer who is thus in a position where both hands can be used for manipulation of the transparency while viewing it in the reflector swung to its second position. Stops are provided for accurately aligning the reflector in either of its two positions. The viewing position is thus above and near the record gate.

While the direct viewing of the original is generally necessary, it is also very desirable to view the image as it will appear on the printing gate. This is for judging focus, except where automatic focusing is provided, for judging density and perhaps contrast and in the case of color transparencies for judging color. A substantially horizontal viewing screen such as a ground glass is provided and a removable mirror such as a reflex mirror is placed in front of the printing gate to deflect the image to this viewing screen. Again to permit convenient viewing, a third reflector is placed above the viewing screen reflecting the light therefrom back over the lens and first reflector to the observer's eyes which are as before in a position above and near the record gate. The use of three reflectors in this manner provides an extremely compact but very convenient printer. is further enhanced by placing the lamp which illuminates the original back under the bed on which the roll holder rides and by having a fourth reflector immediately under the record gate for sending the light up through the transparent record. The light from the lamp to the fourth reflector is substantially horizontal, being at whatever angle to the absolute horizontal is most convenient in the space available. The S- shaped optical path taken by the light from the I:

lamp through the viewing screen to the observers eyes is socompact that the overall height of the printer need only be a few feet and all controls can be conveniently placed within reach of the observer when in the viewing position.

A direct combination of the two viewing systems is provided by having the first reflector so hinged in its so-called second position that it sends the light along the same horizontal path as the light which comes from the third reflector above the viewing screen when the first reflector is in its first position and an image is formed on the viewing screen. Thus the position of the observer is the same for both viewing systems,

namely the position most convenient for manipulation of the original.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the eighth and ninth objectslisted above, are obtained by providing a positive lens in front of the removable mirror and removable therewith for giving on the viewing screen an image which is more brilliant and smaller than that reaching the printing gate and by providing an illuminated white border around the image on this screen.

In order to change the magnification, means are provided for moving the record gate vertically and the printin gate horizontally and a simple accurate leverage system is provided for automatically maintaining correct focus as the magnification is thus changed. This automatic focusing system is applicable only to printing devices in which the optic axis suffers a right angle bend as at the first reflector described above, between the record and the print. It is based on the fact that with respect to any lens, conjugate distances measured from the focal points (not from the lens itself) bear a simple inverse ratio to one another; their products must This compactness and rigidity always equal the square of the focal length of the lens.

Studs extend horizontally from the sides of the record and printing gates and are constrained to move with these gates vertically and horizontally respectively. The lines of motion of the studs are coplanar (or effectively so) and thus they intersect at right angles. A straight lever with longitudinal slots to engage these studs couples them and is pivoted at a point between them which point is displaced a distance equal to the focal length of the lens both from the horizontal line of motion of the printing gate stud and from the vertical line of motion of the record gate stud. By simple geometry, the distance of the studs from the point of intersection of their lines of motion are respectively f+a and f-l-b where f is the focal length of the lens and a and b vary but a b always equals P. The record gate stud must be the same distance from the point of intersection of the lines of motion as the record gate is optically from the lens, i. e. from the first principal plane of the lens. To insure this, the record gate stud is displaced vertically from the record gate itself a distance equal to the distance (along the optic axis even if it is bent by the reflector) from the horizontal line of motion (of the printing gate stud) to the lens. Similarly the printing gate stud is displaced horizontally from the printing gate a distance equal to that from the vertical line of motion (of the record gate stud) to the lens, i. e. to the principal plane of the lens.

With this structurally simple focusing system,

the observer is in the convenient position repeatedly referred to above and has merely to move the record gate to the level which gives the desired magnification and correct focus is assured.

1 Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description whenread in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1' shows a front elevation of the printer.

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the printer.

Fig. 3 shows a side elevation in cross section.

Fig. 4 shows a horizontal cross section of the viewing screen.

Fig. 5 is a geometrical diagram of the focusing system.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the optical system.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the record gate masking system.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of this record gate masking system.

- device.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the printing gate masking system.

Fig. 10 is a rear elevation of the printing gate masking system.

Fig. 11 is another side elevation, opposite to that of Fig. 9, of the printing gate masking system.

Fig. 12 is an end view of the filter holding Fig. 13 is a top view of the roll holder for the printing paper.

Fig. 14 is a front view of the viewing screen system.

Fig. 15 is a side view of the viewing screen system.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the paper .advancing mechanism.

Since Figs. 1 and 2 are outside views, the cooperation of the details is not apparent therein.

Therefore, the following description will be made with reference to the other figures, the optical system being shown best in Figs. 3 and 6. However reference to the first two figures when reading the description will bring out one of the main advantages of the invention, namely the absolute convenience of all controls to the operator.

Figs. 3 and 6 will now be described together. The printer housing consists mainly of two parts-a camera carried by a supporting housing 28'. The camera 20 carried by wheels I35 (in grooves I35 see Fig. 14) is movable horizontally on the supporting housing 29' and all of the features are carried directly or indirectly by these two supports 28 and 28. Light from a lamp 22 travels in a substantially horizontal line through suitable condensers 23 and relay lenses 24 to a reflector 25 whence it is reflected vertically upward through a field lens 26 to a record gate 2| in which the original is mounted horizontally. From that point the light continues upward to a reflector 21 which is positionable in either of two positions labeled 21 and 21. In the position 21', it reflects light through a lens 28 to a vertical printing gate 29 through a window 59 in the camera 28, back of which window 59 the sensitive paper is mounted. In the other position of the reflector 21, the light is reflected horizontally in the opposite direction through an eye-piece 33 to the eyes of the operator who may then observe the record in the record gate 2| directly. The eye-piece 33 is thus in a most convenient position above and near the record gate .2|. Stops 35 and 35 are provided for limiting the movement of the mirror 21 to these two positions 21. and 21'. The hinge 34 about which the mirror 21 rotates is above the optic axis 46 as it travels through the lens 28. The mirror 21 is operated by a handle I25 (shown in Figs. 1 and 2) connected to the shaft of the hinge 34. Even if no other viewing ing gate 29 so that it reflects light upward to a viewing screen 3| on which an image is formed.

A reflector 32 above the viewing screen 3| permits this image to be seen in the eye-piece 33.

In order to change the magnification of the print, the record gate 2| carried by a supporting member I28 is moved upward and the printing gate 29 is moved horizontally. Correct focus is maintained by means of lever 40 which rotates about a point 4| and has longitudinal slots 42 and 43 therein in which studs 44 and 45 move. The stud 44 is carried by the supporting member I28 and is constrained to, move vertically in a slot |2'| in the housing I28. This housing I26 for the condenser 28 is rigidly attached to the housing 28'. The stud 45 is constrained to move horizontally while the printing gate and all of the members associated therewith (i. e. camera 28) are carried by the wheels |36 moving in grooves I35 as best seen in Fig. 14.

The geometry of this focusing system is best shown in Fig. 5. In this figure the vertical line of motion of the stud 44 is labeled 4! and the horizontal line of motion of the stud 45 is labeled 48. These lines of motion intersect at a point 49. Actually, of course, if the lever 48 had an reflector 21.

offset in it, the studs 44 and 45 might not have coplanar motion but in any case it would be equivalent thereto. The pivot 4| of the lever 48 is positioned a distance equal to the focal length of the lens 28 from each of these lines of motion 41 and 48. Thus the points 4|, 49, 50, and 5| form a square whose side equals 1, the focal length of the lens 28. The line 48' representing the lever 40 forms two triangles 44, 50, 4|, and 4|, 5|, 45. It will be noted that by simple geometry these two triangles are exactly similar and remain similar to one another as the line 40 rotates about the point 4|. Therefore a:f equals ,fzb. That is a b equals 1 Now going over from simple geometry to optics it is known that if distances a and b obey this rule, the distance a+f will always be conjugate to the distance 17+] for a lens of focal length 1. Therefore the distance 44-49 (i. e.' from 44 to 49) would always be conjugate to the distance 49-45 with respect to the lens 28. This principle is incorporated into the present printer by making the distance from the record gate 2| to the lens 28 along the optic axis 46 equal to the distance 44-49 and the distance from the lens 28 to the printing gate 29 equal to the distance 49-45. Actually the distances must be measured to the principal planes 52 of the lens 28 and that is what is meant by measuring the distance to the lens 28. As far as the optical principles of the system are concerned the lens 28 may be either side of the To get the above relation of distances the distance 0 between the printing gate 2| and its stud 44 is made exactly equal to the distance between the point 53 and the lens 28. where the point 53 is the intersection of the optic axis 48 and a horizontal plane through the horizontal line 48. Similarly the distance e between the lens 28 and a plane through the vertical line 41 is made equal to the distance d between the stud 45 and the printing plane 29. The planes through the lines of motion are of course the ones perpendicular to the plane of the drawing; they are in each case orthogonal to the optic axis. Although there is only,one horizontal plane through the line 48 there are an infinite number of vertical planes through the line 41 and hence the term orthogonal is used to specify the planes in each case. It will be noted that the distances d and e are actually negative since they are measured back from the lens and from the printing gate respectively. As the record gate is moved vertically'and the printing gate is moved horizontally, the distance 2l-53 changes, but the distance from 2| to the lens 28 always remains equal to the distance between the stud 44 and the point 49 and the corresponding correlation is maintained with respect to the printing gate.

The arrangement for masking the record gate is best illustrated in Figs. 6, 7. and 8. The width of the printing gate is made constant in this printer, which is, of course, the most economical method of using paper in rolls. Therefore, as the magnification is changed, it is necessary to mask the record gate (as far as the width is concerned) to a degree which is inversely proportional to the magnification. This width masking is provided by masks 58 which are moved by screws 51 carried on a shaft 56. Vertical motion of the printing gate to change the magnification causes a pinion to move along a rack 54 which is held rigidly by the printer housing 28. This pinion 55 is thus rotated and rotates the shaft 56 and the screws 57 causing the mask 58 to move in and out as the printing gate is moved up and down.

The length masking of the record gate is more complicated by the fact that different shaped records are often to be printed. The length masking operation ma be divided into two parts, that. which must followthe change in magnification in the same way that the width masking does and that which is somewhat independent of the magnification and depends mainly on the shape of the record being printed. Adjacent to the record gate or provided two arms 69 which are pivoted at a point 6| which is rigidly fastened to the printer housing 29. These arms 66 carry longitudinal grooves 62 therein in each of which moves two studs 63 and 71. The studs 63 are carried by racks 64 which move with the record gate. Thus as the record gate moves up, the stud 63 moves along the groove 62 pulling the horizontal rack 64 with it. This motion of the rack 64 causesa pinion 55 to rotate which rotates its shaft 66 and another pinion 61 thereon'gyvhich other pinionmovesa rack 68 horizontall'ycausing the length masks 69 to move in. Thus for. successive prints of records of the same shape but different sizes, difierent'magnifications are obtained byyertical motion of the record gate and both the widthand length masking of this gate move in accordance-with the change inmagnifi cation:

In this general connection, attention is drawn to the fact that the'magnification necessary is very easily selected by the operator when viewing the record directly,'l. e. when therotatable refiector is in the position 2l.- The operator merely ha's to-raise orlower the horizontal record gate until the automatic masking ofthe width of this gate is brought to the area desired at which time the focus and magnification are, exactly that to give a print of the fixed width beingmade. That is, the operator merely selects the width of the record .to'be printed and .the necessary magnificati'onv is automatically assured.

-.When' prints of difierent shape are used the length masks'have to be changed independently.

of. the width masks. For this purpose a crank 10. rotatesa shaft H and gears 12 which in turn rotate a shaft 14 having screw threads I thereon. These screw threads 15 cause nuts 16 to move horizontally carrying the stud 'I'! referred to above. This horizontal movement of the stud which in any position will be rotated by rotation of this shaft 13. These gears 18 in turn rotate a shaft 19 and another set of gears 89 which operate through a shaft 8| and screw threads 82 to change the length masking of the printing gate. The length masking of the printing gate 29 as formed by the plate 84 is best shown in Figs. 9, 10. and 11. In these figures the plate 84 has an aperture therein which in part constitutes the printing gate. Actually the top and bottom edges of the printing gate and hence its width is defined by the front plate of a roll holder 85 which carries the paper and is carried by the plate 84. In the arrangement shown the roll holder 85 can be used successively in three positions so that three strips of pictures may be made. The edges of the printing gate between the three positions are defined by strips I42 extending across the aperture in the roll holder. One end of the printing gate 29 is defined by the edge 86 of the aperture in the plate 84. As the length masking crank 10 is rotated causing rotation of the screw thread 82. the whole plate 84 carried by a nut 83 oper- 11 causes the arm to rotate about the pivot B|,

the stud 17 moving a short distance along the groove 62. This movement of the arm 60 causes the other stud 63 to move carrying the rack 64 and moving the length mask 69 in the same way as before. It will be noted that the stud 11 moves only horizontally with respect to the printer whereas the stud 63 moves vertically with changes in magnification. Thus the correlation between the horizontal movement of the stud 11 and the movement of the mask 69 is always modified by the magnification factor. When a high degree of magnification is being used, the record gate is very high and the studs 63 are high in the grooves 62 and close together. In this case a relatively large horizontal movement of the stud H is required to give a relatively small change in the length masking.

The shaft H which is rotated by the crank 10 has a square portion 13 extending back toward the printing gate. This square portion carries a set of bevel gears 18 which can move along the shaft I3 as the magnification is changed, but

ating on the screw 82 is moved horizontally. The plate 84 is carried by a groove I29 and moved in this groove only a relatively small distance as is best seen in Fig. 13.

The other end of the printing gate is defined by a movable mask 81 carried by the plate 84. As the plate 84 is moved by the screw 82 and nut 83, it carries with it a pivot 88. This pivot 88 acts as the common point for two connected levers 9| which are pivoted at the points 89.

These points 89 are rigid with respect to a plate |4| which in turn is rigid with respect to the camera housing 20 as far as any horizontal motion is concerned. The other ends of the levers 9| carry pivots 99 which are fastened to the mask 81. Suitable slots 92 are provided in the levers 9| for longitudinal motion of the pivots 88 and 98. Slots 93 are provided in the plate 84 to per mit assembling of the pivots 89 and to permit movement of the plate 84 with respect to these pivots, especially in the case of the pivot which extends into this plate by reason of the fact that one of the levers 9| is on top of the other and is immediately adjacent to the plate 84. Slots 94 are provided in the plate 84 to permit the pivots to extend through from-the mask 81 to the levers 9| which are on the opposite side of the plate, and to permit these pivots 90 to move with respect to the plate 84: Holes 95 are provided in the plate |4| to permit assembly of the pivots 88 and 99. 1

As the plate 84 moves in one direction carrying the edge 86 with it, the mask 81 moves in the opposite direction with the same speed with respect to the plate MI and the printer housing 29. It will be noted that the movement of the mask 81 with respect to the plate 84 is at twice the speed of the movement of the plate 84 with respect to the plate I. Thus the light to the printing gate passes through the Window 59 in the'camera housing 20, the top and bottom of the gate are formed by the roll holder 85 with its cross strips 42 and the ends of the gate are formed in the adjacent plate 84 by edge 86 and mask 81. 1

Referring back to Fig. 3 particularly with reference to Figs. 4,14, and 15, the viewing system will now be described.

The movable mirror 30 is carried by a housing 96 in the front of which is a window to admit light from the .lens 28. A lens'91 positioned in this window reduces the size and increases the brilliance of the image on the viewing screen 3| with respect to the image which, in the absence of the reflector 30 reaches the printing gate 29. Around this image on the viewing screen 3| are provided borders which are illuminated by white light by means of a lamp 98 positioned behind the mirror 30. Light from this lamp 98 is refiected by an inverted four-sided pyramid mirror 99 upward to the borders of the viewing screen 3|. It is of course desirable to prevent any light from this lamp 98 reaching the image on the screen 3| and for this reason suitable bailles I are provided. If one were to remove the viewing screen 3| and to look down from this point, one would see an arrangement such as that shown in Fig. 4 wherein the central area consists'of the mirror 30 surrounded by sloping baflles ||J|i having a window in one side thereof which baflles are surrounded by the mirror 93 and the viewing system housing 96. The lens 81 is shown by broken lines in this figure. The arrangement is also very well shown in the perspective view in Fig. 6.

While the operator is viewing this image on the viewing screen 3|, the white border there around makes it very easy for him to detect any discrepancies in the color balance of the original which is in the printing gate 2|. For example, an original may-be slightly too green, but viewing it separately it would not show up this defect because the eye would adapt itself, whereas the overall green appearance is exaggerated by the presence of a pure white border and hence the operator is made definitely aware of even the slightest discrepancy. By meansof various color filters |0| in the optical system somewhere between the lamp 22 and the removable mirror 30, preferably between the lamp 22 and the rec- .ord gate 2|, the overall hue of the record is changed until it has the correct color as compared to the white border of the viewing screen 3|. As shown in Fig. 12, these filters are mounted on individual'handles |02pivoted on a bar |03which is supported by an arm I04 connected comparison of color and in order to permit exposure of a fixed time it is also desirable to vary the density of the image striking the printing gate, and correspondingly the density of the image on the viewing screen 3|. For this purpose a density wedge ID! as best seen in Fig. 6 is positioned in the light beam and is operated by gears I08 through a rotatable flexible's'hait I09 which is connected to a dial or knob shownin Fig. 1. Thus the filters HH and the density wedge 01 are used to correct for errors in colorbalance in the original transparency and in the light source 22 and for variations in intensity of the image striking the printing. gate.

In a color printing system of this type there is another source of possible error in color balance which can be corrected for. I refer to the fact that the sensitivity of the color sensitive paper on which the print is to be made, may vary somewhat from the correct value; From a theoretical point of view there are two ways of considering this efiect. Since the white borders on the viewing screen 3| are used to define what is the correct hue of the pictures which strike the printing gate, the color of the light from the lamp 98 must be that for which the sensitivity of the printing paper is balanced. To provide for variations of sensitivity balance, a filter 3 corresponding to the sensitivity of the particular roll of paper to be used is placed in the path of the light from the lamp 98 to the borders of the viewing screen. Because of the adaptation of the human eye, the borders of the viewing screen will still be considered to be white and a balance of the color of the image appearing thereon until it appears correct with respect to this white, may be made. At such a time, the image striking the viewing screen 3| (hence the image striking the printing gate 29'when the removable mirror 30 is removed) will have the correct hue to give correct color balance on the particular sensitive paper used. In order to insure that correct colorbalance can be easily obtained with the filters |0| even when the filter H3 is in place, a filter 4 identical in spectral transmission to the filter H3 is positioned adjacent to the filters ||I|. Of course this is necessary only if the filters |0| do not covera sufiicient range to provide the correct color hue when the filter H3 is in place. That is, the filters II are usually made to cover only the range variations in hue of transparencies and may not extend to a range including variations in color balance of the sensitive paper.

Looking at this subject from another point of view, the filter Ill which is selected to correspond to the sensitivity of the paper being used is placed in the illuminating system, at the time prints are being made. If this filter H4 can be easily removed during the judging-and replaced while the exposure is being made on, the printing gate 29, only one filter will be needed. However since the filter ||4 has to stay in place and is not changed during the whole of one roll of sensitive paper, it is decidedly inconvenientto have to remove this filter between the exposures in order to prevent it interfering with the balancing out of discrepancies in the color balance of the original transparency. Therefore, the filter I I4 is placed permanently in place and the filter H3 is placed in the illuminating system that gives the white borders on the viewing screen 3| whereby the effect of the filter Ill on the color balance of the original is balanced out. That is, either or both of the filters H3 and H4 are necessary, but both are preferable since it ||4 only is used, it must be removed from the optical system during judging and if filter 3 only is used, the filters ||I| may not have suflicient range to compensate for the effect of the filter ||3.

A suitable shutter III is provided in the optical system andis arranged so that it may be held open during masking and Judging, held closed while the viewing system carried by the housing 36 is removed from the optical system and operated once giving a fixed exposure. As shown in Fig. 6, the shutter III is provided with an adjustable sector to vary the amount or the exposure in thewell-known way. The shutter IN is operated preferably electrically by a button 2 shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 13, the paper holding means is illustrated from above. As pointed out above the camera housing 20 carries a plate [ll-which is constrained to move in vertical grooves 3 to permit difierent strips of the roll of paper to be used. This plate I has a horizontal groove masking system. This forms part of the length tutes the supply roll and roller H9 constitutes the take-up roll.

So that no paper will be wasted, the take-up mechanism is arranged so that after each exposure the area exposed plus a slight and fixed jlmargin between prints is moved past the printinggate and onto the take-up system. Since according to the invention one side of the printing gate acts as the mask for one end of that gate, the amount of paper on the take-up roll .does not have to be moved even though the length masks are changed. This is, of course, the reason for having one end of the printing gate fixed and having a double speed mask operating over the other end. The so-called fixed end of the printing gate is the one next to the take-up roll. Means are provided for assuring that the amount of the paper advanced after each exposure will be just exactly that necessary to bring the exposed area plus a suitable margin past the gate independent of the length of that exposed area.-

This paper advancing system is best explained with reference to Fig. 16 which illustrates the driving mechanism which forms part, of the paper holding system 85. At this point,.attentionis drawn to the fact that in the cross section shown in Fig. 3 only the rewind mechanism consisting of motor I20, shaft I2I, and clutch system I22 for operating the supply roll I I1 as a take-up roll during rewinding are shown. The take-up system shown in Fig. 16 is similarly fixed below the rollers H8 and H9. Since the actual take-up roll H8 cannot conveniently be used forcontrolling the exact amount of paper taken up (the amount taken up depends on the diameter of the roll and how much paper has already been wound thereonto) the roller H9 is used as the driving roller and is accurately controlled. The roller H9 is driven by studs thereon extending into the plate I66 and the take-up roll H8 is driven by studs thereon extending into the plate I15. Normally the switch I68 is closed by a spring I69. Hence when the switch I61 is closed in order to advance the paper, a solenoid I52 pulls the core I53 against the force of a spring I80 causing a switch I10 to close and a lever arm I54 to rotate pawls I55 upward. The closing of the switch I10 starts the motor I60 which, through the gears I59, shaft I58, and worm gear I51 causes a gear I56to rotate. The pawls I55 push this gear upward so that through a friction drive I6I the wheel I66 starts torotate. On the same shaft, there is mounted a rotatable plate I62 which under the force of the friction drive, rotates carrying an electrical contacting member I63 with it. When this rotation proceeds far enough, the contacting member I63 engages contacts I50 mounted on a stud I48. Through wires II the closing of this contact I50 causes a solenoid or relay III to operate and open the switch I68 which turns off the solenoid I52 releasing the switch I and the pawls I 55 stopping further operation.

Thus the friction drive I6I is released and under the action of a spring I64 the plate I62 carrying the contacting member I63 is drawn rapidly back to its original position wherein the member I63 is against a back stop I65. Obviously the position of the contacting post I48 carrying the contacts I50 determines how far the wind-up operations will proceed before being cut off. This contacting post I48 is carried by an arm I49 mounted on a gear I41 which is free to rotate on the shaft of the driving system. This gear I41 is adjusted through'a pinion I46 which moves on a rack I45 which, as shown in Fig. 13 is mounted on the plate I4I which is horizontally fixed with respect to the camera housing 20. The pinion I46 is carried by the printing gate plate 84 and hence as this gate 84 is adjusted for length masking, the pinion I46 moves along the rack I45 and at the same time turns the gear I41 adjusting the position of the contacting stop I48. Thus this driving system constitutes means for accurately advancing the paper by an amount equal to the exposed area plus a suitable margin between prints. The actual take-up roll H8 is driven by the same motor H6 through gears I12 and I13 and the roll engaging member I15. Since this must be a slip drive to compensate for changes in diameter of the paper roll, a spring I14 is provided and the engagement between the rollers H8 and I I9 and the driving wheels I66 and I15 respectively. This is doneby a solenoid I19 whose core I18 is moved against a springl8l-causing the crank I11 to turn which in turn moves pawls I16 downward releasing the engagement between the driving wheels and the rolls as required.

The mechanical details of the viewing system are shown in Figs. 14 and 15. The viewing housing 96 carrying the mirrors 30 and 32 and the bafiles I00 and lens 91 is positioned to move horizontally on suitable guides and is driven by a rack I33 and pinion I32. This pinion I32 is driven by a chain drive I 3| by a motor I30. As the housing 96 moves completely out of the optical path an electric switch I34 is operated to shut ofi. the motor 30 to prevent any further motion. As best shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 bellows 39 are provided to permit vertical motion of the record gate 25 and bellows 31 and 38 permit horizontal movement of camera 20 relative to lens 28 and eye-piece 33.

These Figs. 14 and 15 also illustrate the device for raising the plate I in the grooves I43. For this purpose racks I40 are mounted on the plate I and are driven by a motor I31 through suit- This motion of camera 20 relative to the support 20' requires that some provision be made for the wire carrying current to the motors I20 and I60 etc. The wires (not shown) are held in the housing 20' and fed out over a roller I24 mounted on the rear thereof and back to the motors in the camera 20.

The method by which the above device satisfies each of the specific objects of the invention will now be outlined. The record gate 2| is horizontal and is very convenient for manipulation when the operator is viewing through the eyepiece 33. The weight of the camera system 20 with the roll holder does not affect the focusing since the focusing requires only a horizontal movement of this heavy unit on horizontal tracks. The eye-piece 33 is at a convenient level for the eyes of the operator and the viewing is done horizontally through this eye-piece so that no unnecessary strain is introduced. The rotatable mirror 21 permits the horizontal record gate -to be used, a vertical printing gate to be used and a horizontal viewing system to be used without interfering with the relative convenience of the eye-piece 33 to the record gate 21. The S-shaped optical path which the optic axis 46 follows from the lamp 22 to the reflectors 25, 21, 30, and 32 and thence to the eye-piece 33 provides the overall compactness, strength, rigidity and ability to stand wear and tear as well as the convenience to the operator.

The mirror 21 when in the upper position (21) provides a very convenient means for viewing the original directly without permitting any light to be sent to the printing gate 29 (the mirror 21 not being in both positions at one time). It also permits the original transparency to be viewed directly from above so as to utilize the illumination most efficiently which comes directly from below and also provides ease of operation during the manipulation of the original transparency in masking, selecting the portion to be printed, etc; The removable mirror 30 with the viewing screen 3| provides a most convenient system for viewing the image. The brilliance of this image is increased by the lens 91. The borders around the image are illuminated by the lamp 98 in such a manner that the illumination may be uniform and does not interfere with the rest of the optical system. This border is of course for judging color and density. The rotatability of the mirror 21 about the hinge 3| has still another advantage namely the quick change-over from a direct viewing system to a system wherein the image on the ground glass 3| isviewed.

The magnification is varied by the vertical and horizontal movements of the record and printing gates respectively. Automatic focus is maintained'by the lever and guide system comprising levers 40 and studs 44 and 45. Obviously this system can be made as rigid and as accurate as desired. The printing gate 28 is of constant width and by having the width masking of the record gate 2| automatically adjusted in accordance with the change in magnification, the correct magnification is always selected to give a print of this desired constant width.

The operation of the printer is as follows. The transparency is loaded into the record gate 2|. The magnification is set using the width of the transparency in auto masking and auto focusing as described above. The length masking is set. The mirror 21 is swung down to the position 21 in the objective beam, permitting viewing of the image on the ground glass 3|. Color balance is made with the fllters IOI (via buttons I06) and the-exposure level is set with the wedge I01 (via dial H). The printing cycle is started by closing a switch button H2 shown in Fig. 1 which closes the shutter. The viewing box 96 moves clear of the beam, incidentally opening a limit switch I34 (see Fig. 14) to prevent its being driven too far. An exposure is made by operating the shutter. Thepaper is advanced as described above. Incidentally, this may be repeated for multiple printing without bringing the viewing box back into the beam. Otherwise the viewing box is moved back into the beam and then the shutter is opened for viewing and the objective mirror 21 is swung up to the upper posi-.

tion (21) for viewing the next transparency. Obviously everything is done automatically as far as mechanical operations are concerned and only the minimum of skill is required on the part of the operator.

Having thus described my invention, I wish to point out that it is not limited to the specific structure shown, but is of the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A projection printer for making a print from a transparent photographic record comprising a horizontal gate for holding the record, means for illuminating the record from below, a vertical gate for holding photosensitive material upon which the print is to be made, a reflector and a lens above the record for receiving light from the record and focusing an image of the record on said vertical gate, a removable reflector positionable a fixed distance in front of the vertical gate for reflecting said image upward to a substantially horizontal plane, a viewing screen in said plane to receive said image, a third reflector above the viewing screen for reflecting the light therefrom horizontally back over the record and record holding gate.

2., A projection printer according to claim 1 in which the illuminating means comprises a light source under said vertical gate for sending a substantially horizontal beam of light under the record and a fourth reflector immediately below the record for reflecting the beam through the record whereby the optical path from the light source to the position of viewing is vertically compact,

3. A projection printer according to claim 1 on which the lens is between the first-mentioned reflector and the vertical gate and this reflector is rotatable about a coplanar-horizontal hinge to a position in the horizontal path of thelight from said third reflector in which position the firstmentioned reflector reflects light directly from the record to the viewing position above and near the record holding gate.

4. A projection printer for making a print from a transparent photographic record comprising a horizontal gate for holding the record, means for illuminating the record from one side, a twoposition reflector on the other side in one position for reflecting the light horizontally, a lens in the horizontal light beam from the reflector in said one position for focusing an image of the record in a vertical plane, a gate in said plane for holding photosensitive material upon which the print is to be made, a hinge on the side of the horizontal light beam opposite to the record gate, said hinge being coplanar with and carrying said reflector which is rotatable about said hinge to the other of its two positions wherein it reflects the light horizontally in a direction opposite to that in which it reflects the light 'when in said one position, stops for limiting the studs extending horizontally from the side of the gates and moving respectively in vertical and .horizontal coplanar lines, the stud on the side of the record gate being vertically displaced from this gate a distance equal to the distance along the optic axis from the lens to the orthogonal plane through the horizontal line and the stud a the viewingiscreen an image of reduced size compared to the image on the, vertical gate.

' '7; A projectionprinter according to claim 1 having the'borders of the viewing screen which *flsur'round the image thereon; illuminated with l substantially white light whereby, a visual comparison may be made of the image and the white borders.

8. A projection printer for making a print from a transparent photographic record comprising a housing, a horizontal gate in front of the housing fforhdlding the record, vertical guides on the ,housing for guiding the record gate which is -.--vertically movableinsaid guides, means carried .by the housing for; illuminating the record, gate from below, a 'camera'on top ofthe housing for carrying photosensitive material upon which the print is to be made and having a vertical printing gate -in the front ,thereof, horizontal tracks on thehousing for guiding the camera whichis horizontally movable on said tracks, means in the camera for holding photosensitive material in said printing gate, a reflector above the record gate for reflecting light from the record gate horizontally to the printing gate, a lens between the reflector and the printing gate for focusing on the printing gate an image of the. record, a

removable reflector positionable a fixed distance infront of the printing gate for reflecting said image upward to a substantially horizontal plane, a viewing screen in said plane, to receive said image, a third reflector above the viewing screen for. reflecting the light therefrom horizontally A back over the record and first mentioned reflector, means for moving the record and printing gates in said guides and tracks respectively for printing at different magnifications and means for automatically maintaining focus as the magnification is changed, said focus maintaining means including studs extending horizontally from the side of each gate and moving respectively in vertical and horizontal lines, the stud on the side of the record gate being vertically displaced from this gate a distance equal to the distance along the optic axis from the lens to the orthogonal plane of the horizontal line of motion and the stud on the side of the'vertical gate being horizontally displaced from the latter gate a distance equal to the distancealong the optic axis from the lens to' the orthogonal plane of the vertical line of motion, a lever with longitudinal slots engaging said studs and a pivot mounted on the side of the housing between the studs and carrying said lever, the pivot being at a point disiplaced vertically from said horizontal line and horizontally from said vertical -line distances equal to the focal length of the lens.

9. A projection printer according to claim 8 having a shutter mounted in thehousing for controlling the light through the record gate,

, said shutter being open when the removable gate.

.10. A projection'printer according to claim 8 in which the illuminatingmeans comprises a light'source mounted in the housing under the camera for sending a substantially horizontal beamvof' light under the record gate and a fourth reflector carried by the housing below the record gate for reflecting this beam throughthe record gate. I

11.-.A projection printer according to claim 8 in which the first mentioned reflector is rotatable from the position wherein it reflects light horizontally through the lens up to a second position wherein" it reflects the light horizontally, in the opposite direction along the same path as taken by the light from said third reflector and in which is included a horizontal hinge carried by.

the housing for supporting said first mentioned reflector, means for rotating this reflector about said hinge and stops carried by the housing for limiting the motion of this reflector at the two positions.

BENJAMIN E. LUBOSHEZ. 

